An Italian Food & Wine Tour

DELECTABLE DINING IN ITALY

Glennie and Steve Bench share the stories of their food and wine tour in Central Italy.

BY JILL HOLLOWAY

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Steve Bench was recently reminded of his youth when he surprised his wife, Glennie with a group food and wine tour of Italy.

Bench’s father was in the Air Force and stationed with NATO in 1967. During that time, he was transferred to Vicenza, Italy, where Bench attended high school from 1967-1970. While he and his wife did not get to visit his former home, they explored other regions of Italy that brought back many fond memories.

“It was just like I left it,” Bench said. “It was a really important part of my life, and some of the fondest moments of my life were in Italy.”

The quaint countryside towns were just as he remembered, and he was thrilled to share it with his wife, despite their tour being in central Italy, compared to the northern region he grew up in.

“He booked this trip, because when he was in high school he played all types of sports and traveled across Europe,” Glennie explained. “While this wasn’t where he grew up, he knew the food and wine would appeal to me and would allow me to see a variety of places.”

Bench, with the help of Erin Timmons, booked the trip through Go Ahead Tours, formerly known as Education Forward Tours, and surprised Glennie for Christmas.

“We didn’t really know what it was going to be like,” she said. “We wondered if there would be enough free time, but they took care of everything and were relatively aff ordable and they off ered additional excursions.”

Every day off ered something a bit diff erent and allowed both Glennie and Steve a chance to get to know members of their tour group a bit better.

“It was a great mix of people,” Glennie said.

Bench agreed saying that they both gravitated toward certain people more, but were happy to get to know everyone, including several couples from across the United States.

Throughout the tour, both agreed that the food was delicious. The couple even tried their hand at

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Right, Glennie and Steve take a pasta-making class in Florence. Above, shows a bird’s eye view of Assisi and the walls of Montalcino. Page left shows stops in Cortona and Perugia. It also shows the group’s fi nal rooftop dinner in Rome, where they enjoyed drinks and a fi nal goodbye before fl ying back home.

making their own pasta.

“I would say that some of the food we ate at the restaurants was probably our least favorite,” she said. “The meals we had the farms were delicious.”

Bench shared they went to olive oil farms, vineyards and a local hog market.

“We didn’t bring home souvenirs like most people,” Glennie said. “We ordered olive oil and organic garbanzo beans.”

When not enjoying the fresh prosciutto and chickpeas, the couple enjoyed visiting several different vineyards.

“We learned you drink what you like and you drink what’s local,” Glennie said. “You don’t have to spend a lot of money on wine. If you learn about the region where the wine is coming from, you know what it’ll be like, so you can make better decisions.”

Most of these dinners and vineyard tours were part of the excursions off ered through the tour company. The excursions also allowed tourists to visit accompanying towns, such as Assisi, who was in the middle of a festival.

“The entire town was decked out in period garb from the 1700s and were participating in competitions and skits in the town square,” Bench said.

Not every day included excursions, though.

The couple shared that every day would be diff erent. They would be sent a schedule the day prior, which would sometimes tell them where to be for an excursion, or for the bus, but it would also give them free days to explore on their own.

“It was the best way to show her what Italy was really like,” Bench said.

On exploration days, they would

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often return for group dinners at various castles that would be catered, so they could explore the castle.

While the castle dinners were exquisite, Bench specifi cally recalls a special meal he and Glennie shared on one of their free days.

The restaurant was at the bottom of a hill, he claimed never ended. However, when they fi nally arrived they found the restaurant was owned by a German lady, who let them in, although no other guests had arrived yet.

“We had a great meal, great wine,” he said. “There was no time limit; they weren’t trying to rush us out of there.”

The restaurant was described as a romantic, intimate place on the outside of the city wall that didn’t seat more than 10 couples.

With this meal and dining experience being only one of the many they were able to enjoy, it’s no wonder they would want to do a group tour again.

When asked where they would want to go next, Glennie said she would like to see more of Northern Italy where her husband is from, and explore more of Rome, seeing the arts and the Vatican.

Bench agreed, saying there is never a shortage of things to do in Italy, especially Rome.

The couple did have the opportunity to see Rome during this tour, where they were treated to drinks on a rooftop that overlooked many historical sites for their farewell party.

“It was just terrifi c,” Bench said. “It was a great way to end an amazing trip.”

If not Italy, Glennie concluded by saying she would love to partake in Go Ahead’s walking tour of the Amalfi Coast.

To see more locations off ered by Go Ahead Tours, visit www.goaheadtours.com

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